Numerous experiments document that hormonal changes are carcinogenic and the Federal government has recently ceased supporting hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) for this reason. It is therefore not surprising that disruptions of nocturnal hormonal secretions of the pineal gland are also carcinogenic. Cf. Schernhammer, E. S., et alia, “Rotating night shifts and risk of breast cancer in women participating in the nurses' health study.” Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2001 Oct. 17; 93 (20): 1563–1568; Davis, S., et alia, “Night shift work, light at night, and risk of breast cancer.” Journal of National Cancer Institute 2001 Oct. 17; 93 (20) 1557–1562. Also see papers published in the Journal of Pineal Research 1993 August; 15 (1): 1–12; Melanoma Research 1991 November-December; 1 (4): 237–43; Oncology 1992; 49 (5): 336–9; and the European Journal of Cancer 1999 November; 35(12):1688–92. Abstracts of the above papers were published in Life Extension Magazine, March 2002, pp. 79–81. Also see the remarks of D. Blask, Ph.D., G. C. Brainard, Ph.D., and R. Stevens, Ph.D., quoted by Kathleen McAuliffe in, “Researchers shine a night light on a possible link to cancer.” New York Times on the Web, Women's Health section, 1999 Jun. 13. This article and correspondence between the inventor and researchers G. C. Brainard, Ph.D, R. J. Reiter, Ph.D., and C. A. Czeisler, Ph.D. are enclosed.
The pineal gland in the brain secretes the hormone melatonin. Melatonin has a powerful effect on the circadian rhythms and is involved in the illness called Seasonal Affect Disorder, or SAD. The secretions are synchronized so that high levels of melatonin are released during the night and low levels during the day. Disruption of the nocturnal secretions of this hormone has many ill effects, principally through its effects on other glands. Cf. W. Pierpaoli, W. Regelson, The Melatonin Miracle. NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1995; Abdel-Wanis, M. E., et alia, “Aetiology of spinal deformities in neurofibromatosis 1: new hypotheses.” Medical Hypotheses 2001 March; 56 (3): 400–404. Grin, W., et alia, “A significant correlation between melatonin deficiency and endometrial cancer.” Gynecological Obstetrical Investigation 1998; 45 (1): 62–65. Grad, B. R., et alia, “The role of melatonin and serotonin in aging: update.” Psychoneuroendocrinology 1993; 18 (4): 283–295. Sandyk, R., et alia, “Is the pineal gland involved in the pathogenesis of endometrial carcinoma.” International Journal of Neuroscience 1992 January; 62 (1–2): 89–96.
Research during the past ten to fifteen years confirmed that light entering the eyes is a powerful means of controlling the circadian system in humans. Aside from neurological signals sent from the retina to the visual centers of the brain, other such signals are sent to the hypothalamus and it is these that greatly effect the hormonal secretions of the pineal gland. Cf. G. C. Brainard, et alia, “Dose-response relationship between light irradiance and the suppression of plasma melatonin in human volunteers.” Brain Research, 454 (1988), pp. 212–218.
The sleep patterns of even totally blind people are affected by the absence of retinal exposure to light. This was established in the 1970's by James Stevenson, then a blind graduate student at Stanford University. It was later confirmed by Laughton Miles, Ph.D., who published a paper in 1977 on the subject of the effect of light on the blind. In 1987 Dr. James Stevenson began taking doses of the hormone secreted by the pineal gland, melatonin, with great success in that it enabled him to establish regular sleep patterns, which is a difficulty in total blindness. Cf. E. Goode, “Melatonin used to restore sleep patterns in blind people.” New York Times on the Web, 27 Jun. 1999.
Regardless of the entry path of light, whether through exposed body tissue or directly, through the retina of the eye, light disrupts the secretions of the pineal gland. Cf. E. Nagoumey, “Of Light, Tissue, and Better Moods,” New York Times on the Web, 24 Apr. 2001, which cites the work of D. Oren, Ph.D. of Yale University, published recently in Biological Psychiatry.
If the pineal gland is secreting melatonin, exposure to ordinary light will disrupt its secretions. Cancers become common with disruptions of pineal secretion during the hours customarily devoted to sleep. In humans, cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon are most likely since these are already the most common. It is irrelevant that light striking the retina may only be faint and the exposure last only a second. The light may be from outside security lighting, a distant street lamp penetrating drapes or shutters, an ordinary household night light, or even from the moon.